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Who is the only Indian to have become President of the United Nations General Assembly?
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Answer: Option C — Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Detailed Solution
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1900-1990) was elected President of the eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly in 1953. She was the first woman in the world to hold this post, and she remains the only Indian to have done so.
About Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit:
- She was the sister of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, and the aunt of Indira Gandhi.
- She was born in Allahabad (Prayagraj) and was named Swarup Kumari Nehru.
- She took an active part in the freedom struggle and was jailed several times.
- In 1937, she became the Minister of Local Self-Government and Public Health in the United Provinces, making her the first Indian woman to become a cabinet minister.
- After independence, she served as India's ambassador to the Soviet Union (1947-1949), the United States and Mexico (1949-1951), and later as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and ambassador to Ireland.
- She led the Indian delegation to the United Nations in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
- She was Governor of Maharashtra (1962-1964) and later a Member of the Lok Sabha from Phulpur.
- She later became a critic of Indira Gandhi's Emergency (1975-77).
About the UN General Assembly:
- It is the main deliberative body of the UN, where all 193 member states have one vote each.
- Its President is elected every year for a one-year term, by rotation among the five regional groups.
Other Indian "firsts" at the UN:
- Hansa Mehta helped change the wording of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) from "All men are born free and equal" to "All human beings are born free and equal".
- K. Krishna Menon gave the longest speech ever made at the UN Security Council (about 8 hours, on Kashmir, in 1957).
- India has been elected a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council eight times.
Why not the other options?
- ✗K. Krishna Menon made the longest speech at the UN Security Council.
- ✗Sarojini Naidu was the first woman Governor in India.
- ✗Hansa Mehta helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Quick tip
Remember: Only Indian (and first woman) President of the UN General Assembly = Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (8th session, 1953); first Indian woman cabinet minister (UP, 1937).
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Firsts in India & World — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Firsts in India & World, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the first persons and events in India and the world: the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize, the first woman to hold major offices, the first to climb Everest or reach space, and India's first institutions, newspapers, railways and satellites. It also covers the largest, longest, highest and smallest records in India and the world. These are pure memory questions, so revise them as short lists by theme: first women, first in sports, first in science and space, and first in governance. Be careful with the exact wording, such as 'first Indian' versus 'first person of Indian origin', or 'first woman President' versus 'first woman Prime Minister', since options are often designed to exploit this. Practise the firsts in India and the world questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.